Preet Bharara, who was fired as the U.S. Attorney in New York by President Trump despite having an outstanding record, has written in praise of his friend and former colleague, Special Counsel Robert Muller, for Time Magazine’s list of the most influential people of 2018.

“To millions, the special counsel is either a political savior or berserk villain,” writes Bharara.

“He is neither,” he continues. “He’s a by-the-book lawman who, with nothing to prove and a lifetime of service behind him, agreed to lead the most fraught, least understood, highest-stakes investigation of our time.”

Bharara opens his profile by pointing to Mueller’s outstanding war record after he graduated Princeton, and his exemplary service “battling crime” for the Department of Justice.

He describes Mueller as “straitlaced and tight-lipped, a legal and sartorial traditionalist,” and recalls, “Once, while jointly announcing charges in an international assassination plot, he chided me for wearing a blue shirt.”

Mueller continues doing his work and leading the first-rate team of lawyers and investigators he has assembled.

As The Hill puts it, Mueller stands tall even among some of those who support Trump: “While some congressional Republicans have questioned the fairness and validity of Mueller’s probe, there is apparently little overall support among lawmakers for firing him.”

Bharara has captured the reasons Mueller stands so tall in a world where it is often hard to be sure who is on which side.

That is what has made it so hard for Trump to fire him, and made most people ignore the president’s threats and claims that Mueller is on a witch hunt.

As Bharara says, “For that, we owe him incalculable thanks.”

Mueller and Bharara represent what has made the American justice system stand tall in a world where many countries legal systems are just tools of authoritarian leaders.

Preet Bharara: “Every single time the President makes clear that he doesn’t like an investigation of him or his associates and wants his investigation to stop, that adds to the narrative … that that was intentional and is potential obstruction” #CNNSOTUhttps://t.co/q1Dxpplrux